I consulted those in the trenches and this is the best source of information. I looked at the science. Nico, being a very analytic individual was a great resource. I would mention something I was considering and over great contemplation, over a mocha, he would thumbs up or down.
We have been talking wheels, chains, seats, helmets, clothing for years! It is a good idea to take note of what nations use in terms of equipment during the Olympics. Riders and Team Mechanics are a wealth of information as to what works and what does not. I took some heat with the tires on my training wheels being mounted with the label up. Apparently this is bad, as if there is a spot of moisture, it could potentially slide out, so I'm already saying I know, when the track expert starts looking over my rig. I met Al Morrison while racing Moriarty one year. He is an expert with the dynamics of rolling resistance and bike tires. We call Al the Tire Guy. So much depends on the surface, tire/tube composition and many other dynamics, but the jist is more pressure does not equate to higher performance. I asked questions, sleeves/ no sleeves, gloves, and shamefully I admit Nico and I discussed how much fuzz on the legs might be beneficial. I had 220psi with the Vitt Evo CS 23 on the Mavic 4 Spoke front and Cosmic Disc. 54x14 (DA 3/32) Rotor 172.2 SRM Track PC7. Shimano 9sp 3/32 Friction Facts prep chain (optimized to save 4.52W), Selle SMP Chrono saddle, USE Tula bars w/ Zipp extensions. 54 Cervelo T4 frame, thanks Nico!

You make valid points, but I'm not going to give up on the fact that you can yield to another trail user on the Marshall Mesa trails without just riding off the trail. It takes 10 seconds to slow down, put one foot down and let someone pass. When I see downhill riders just blaze 15 feet off the trail to avoid slowing down, I'm very disappointed.

I ride the Marshall Mesa trails a lot. I rarely ride it during peak hours as the behavior is ridiculous, and I don't think its lack of education I think its "I'm more important" mentality.

where "education" == teaching users (hikers, cyclists, equestrians) to stay on the trail, go through, not around muddy sections, and ride or run over rocks and obstacles, not to create braids / alternate routes by going around them.

where "singletrack" == the classic definition that IMBA has promoted for decades. Meaning: trails of a width that doesn't naturally allow 2 users in opposite directions to pass without stopping to yield and/or moving partially off trail. That means 18" max width.

you're never going to achieve either of these for the vast majority of users on the close-in high volume Boulder Open Space networks, as much as I'd love to see this happen, it's simply never going to. Examples being the Shanahan / NCAR and Mesa area hiking trails and the Boulder Reservoir / Marshall Mesa multi-use networks. I've seen a lot of shouting back and forth over the years about "singletrack" and what defines it, and "keep singletrack skinny" and cyclists crying out for "more singletrack, less dirt roads" in the metropolitan Open Space parks, and I don't think it would ever work unless Boulder County Open Space really re-configures their use cases and their mentality around how they lay out trail networks. I think with the balance they have to give towards preserving habitats and working with agricultural use, building more networked loops to diversify use and separate users can't happen. As I said above, pick 2: singletrack, multi-use, high volume. The 3 cannot co-exist peacefully.

The problem with education in this particular area is that you have so many casual, transient day users, tourists from out of town, students with their families from Miami Beach or Los Angeles, so many people from different urban cultures and even different international cultures using our trails, and they're literally only ever going to be out there once or twice, so how do you even manage to "educate" them? Not to mention the locals that have been going out on these trails since they were undesignated social trails, and their expectations are completely different to an IMBA use case such that unless you literally post signs everywhere and have highly visible rangers and tight enforcement (which will piss off a lot of people, especially locals who're used to local enforcement being pretty loose), the user mentality simply will not ever change.

I've been that rider, and trail runner, who's been buzzed by other riders riding right into my face or passing frighteningly close with no warning and no clue they're supposed to yield, and it's happened enough times to me that when I'm running or riding Marshall Mesa I've honestly come to expect it. I always ride as much in control as possible and yield to foot, uphill and horse traffic because it's just the right thing to do. The majority of my encounters with other riders there have been positive, but that network is so busy, I have at least one or 2 negative encounters with other trail users every time I go out there. I see at least 2 or 3 bags of abandoned bags of dog crap every time I ride those trails. I've also seen numerous examples of poorly controlled off-leash dogs, including fighting with other dogs, chasing livestock or wildlife, lots of hikers way off the trail in the weeds with their kids picking stuff or taking pictures, and lots of cyclists doing things I'd rather they didn't, like riding around rocks or mud, and/or passing other trail users too close or too fast and not yielding appropriately. I see at least one of these things every single time I ride there. What is the solution? Obviously it's not more education because there's been a lot of controversy and conversation about this in recent years, and nothing's changed. Obviously it's not more rules and restrictions because from what I can tell, those don't get enforced anyway.

I've also been the rider that came to a complete stop and tried to do a proper Fruita Lean on the Picture Rock trail, failed (because it was offcamber on my weak foot) and rolled 6" "too far" off the trail and was snapped at nastily to "keep it skinny" by a guy with one of the orange "Trail Crew" plates on his MTB. I have no idea who that was but if he's going to do that to a woman who's obviously attempting to do the right thing, and if that's the sort of thing the local trail "advocates" espouse, then quite frankly BMA can shove their "singletrack" agendas up their ass. I've paid for BMA membership every year since 2001 when I moved here and they were BOA. I've dug a lot of new trail and earned a lot of calluses with trail tools, so I can live without their condescension, especially since from what I can tell, they don't seem to fully understand how the constraints on trail access here work against their stated agendas of narrow pristine singletrack everywhere there are trails.

This is also why, when I want to go for a real cross-country MTB ride, I ride up to the high country in summer where I can ride School Bus, East Mag / Dots, Sourdough and St Vrain trails, or I drive up to Fraser / Winter Park so I can ride without having to deal with other traffic. These specific areas are places where I think the "narrow trails" agenda is appropriate, as well as achievable.

Great discussion but what I find interesting here is "What is Single Track"? The photo in the story shows a 3-4 foot trail which IMO is single track and is one of my favorite single track's around. IMBA provided some guidelines on width vs difficulty but there is no real authority on what single track is and that is part of the problem. However I have been told that 2 feet is the goal of Boulder Open space.

303cycling LLC is dedicated to Colorado cycling news in the Boulder and Denver area. We cover Denver bike racing, Boulder bike Racing, Colorado cyclocross, Colorado mountain biking, Denver bike commuting and other cycling news. In addition, we also host Colorado's cycling calendar which covers all cycling events from racing to bike touring and even to community events like Bike to work day. And don't forget about the recently added Colorado Road Racing Forum along with the Boulder Velodrome page If you have any news you would like to post on 303cycilng please Post It. Thank you for reading!